She pouted. “I told your assistant I was coming. I thought we could catch up.” Then, as if noticing Dani for the first time, she turned and gave her a bright, insincere smile. “And you must be…?”
Dani smiled sweetly, stepping forward and threading her arm through Alexandros’s with lazy familiarity.
“Dani Collins,” she greeted in a cheerful voice. “Fiancée.”
Gina blinked at the ring Dani flashed. Dani could feel the other woman’s scrutiny as she ran her gaze from head to toe all the way to her bone marrow. Dani recognized the look instantly—the same one designer sales associates gave her when she walked in wearing greasy overalls, moments before trying to usher her out.
“Oh,” Gina said with a plastic smile. “How… quaint.”
Behind Gina, Dani caught Demetrius’s dry murmur: “Gina is Vito’s stepsister.”
Aha.
Jealousy flared, hot and unexpected, but Dani didn’t flinch. Instead, she leaned in and pressed a kiss to Alexandros’s cheek.
His arm wrapped around her, and he started to turn his head towards her, but she stopped him with a caress to his cheek.
Leaning closer to his ear, she whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’m not kissing you again until you brush your teeth.”
Alexandros stifled a laugh.
Dani patted his chest, dragging her palm down with slow, lingering possession before she pulled away. “I’m going to shower,” she tossed out with a bright, fake smile. “You two have fun catching up. But if you need anything, darling, just shout. I’m sure Demetrius would be happy to help take out the trash.”
With one last sweet smile, she turned and sauntered toward the stairs.
Her heart was pounding, but her face was calm.
Dani knew Gina was trouble the moment she strutted out like the villa was her catwalk. Butshehad a wrench, a blowtorch, and a wicked imagination—and she could think of at least twelve different ways to hide a body on the villa grounds without messing up the landscaping.
Let Gina try something again.
Dani Collins wasn’t going anywhere.
And neither was her man.
Alexandros looked with disapproval at Gina when he noticed the flash of irritation change to calculation. He had seen that look far too many times when the young woman wanted something and had been told no. He’d been on the receiving end of that look before. But this time, it mattered. She was trying to drive a wedge between him and Dani. He wouldn’t allow it—not even for the sake of peace.
“Our families—our fathers—” Gina began, her mouth drawn into a practiced pout that probably still worked on half the men in Rome.
He stepped away when she lifted her hand to touch him again. Her lips tightened, and another flash of annoyance swept across her face.
“Alexandros,” she pouted, giving him a puppy-eyed look of hurt.
He shook his head, his patience nearing an end. “They were drunk in a den when we were kids and still laugh about it over dinner,” he said flatly. “It was not a blood oath. There was no agreement. Formal, informal, imagined, or otherwise.”
“But… they both want it. If you turn your back on us, you’ll be breaking with tradition!”
“No, Gina. I’m starting my own.” He stared her down. “With Dani.”
He knew instantly that mentioning Dani's name had broken through Gina's defenses; a subtle shift in her eyes betrayed the fracture. Her polished facade slipped, revealing the ice beneath.
Her voice turned cold, bitter. “If you want to slum it with a grease-stained mechanic—yes, Vito told me exactly who she is—don’t be surprised when she bores you; or worse, embarrasses you in front of half of the world.”
Instead of being offended, he chuckled—only fueling Gina’s rage. Gina had no ideawhoDani really was, nor the power behind her. He saw no point in continuing the argument when all he wanted was to join Dani upstairs, where the warm steam from the shower enveloped them. The image of Dani, water cascading over her smooth skin, sent a jolt of excitement through him; his blood rushed south.
He gave Gina a look weighted with finality. His stare conveyed the gravity of her actions, making her realize her mistake.
“Alexandros? Are you serious? You-you would choose that-thatnobodyover me?” Gina demanded.
